Senseless Acts
by angelofjoy
Summary: When a terroist bombing shakes the state of New Jersey, House and Cuddy are caught up in the biggest trauma of their lives. This story takes place after Team Wilson and include the same team makeups as my other House stories. Please RR
1. The Good Times

Chapter 1: The Good Times

Doctor Gregory House arrived late, as usual, to find his team, doctors Chase, Forman, Taub and Cicciliano, gathered around the conference room table chatting over coffee and seemingly content. They laughed at each other, smiled readily, and made the scene in the office inviting. House watched his team for a moment as doctors Bennett and Robinson passed him in the hall, on their way to their own office, and set the scene in the calm, quiet halls of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.

Recently life had been increasingly good; Lisa and Rachel Cuddy had become a truly important and altering part of House's life. He had never known love like he knew now and had never given parenting a passing thought until he started to spend time with Rachel, a natural consequence of dating her mother. He had become so attached to her, and she to him, that he graciously stepped into more responsibility as Cuddy offered it. He played with her, taught her how to read music and play the piano and even read bed times stories. In return Rachel admired him, loved him and gave to him all of the attention and wonders that a child could bestow. For Rachel Cuddy, the world was bright, brilliant and full of questions that needed answers and House loved the simplicity and the interest that Rachel put into every new discovery. Rachel also found it imperative to not have her mother around when illness struck, but House was a primary parental care giver with every stuffy nose or scrapped knee, and though these little illnesses would have annoyed House to death on a regular basis, because it was Rachel, he was the idyllic and over-attentive doctor. Every booboo, sniffle, and tummy ache felt better with a kiss and a hug from Doctor Gregory House. House for the first time in his life felt a strong family bond and was optimistic about the future.

Life at work had also been very rewarding. Cases came and went, and the puzzles kept House occupied. He was proud of his team members and their expertise. They were loyal, smart and efficient. Indeed, he trusted this team implicitly; he could laugh with them, yell at them, and disagree with them, and yet they continued to accept his methods and became better doctors because of their interaction. The primary team members were also very respectful of House's personal life and he opened his heart to let even these people be apart of that. Rachel had taken very keenly to all of the members of his team and was always pleased to play with them, mock them, and generally cause dissension among the ranks. She looked up to the team with awe and admiration as she milled about in her mini lab coat and scrubs, and baby pink stethoscope. Rachel certainly had a special way of keeping each and every member of the team grounded. They watched her interact with House and him with her, and saw that even the big bad beast that was Gregory House had a gentle and kind side. He didn't often show it, but House had found compassion in a place he had always avoided it: human contact, more specifically, with children. House had never been particularly fond of children, but then again, Rachel was unlike most children, and House took to her with ease.

House had also learned to truly appreciate his friendships. Doctor James Wilson had done so much and been through so much with House that it was surprising to both of them just how strong their friendship had become. Wilson was also a very brilliant doctor, well liked, and a good teacher. He had compassion like no one else and in his line of work it was a prerequisite. The patients that fell under Doctor Wilson's care were normally those who had the horrible misfortune of terminal illness and there was no better person to deliver such horrible news, than Wilson. Wilson knew how to bring hope, how to lead, and how to take on the world's most prolific disease with calmness and quiet understanding that made him respectable and easily likable. Occasionally House had been jealous of his friend and yet there were always great things in store for the both of them. Wilson had taken on his own team of fellows recently, and this increased responsibility meant that Wilson had less time to hang around with House, but luckily both teams had taken well to each other. The young fellows on Wilson's team were very impressed with House's team members, and Wilson was more than willing to show them just how much of an asset House and his team was to the hospital. Wilson always made time for his friends, for his team and for those who always needed him.

Thus was the life as it had dawned on this beautiful summer day. The sky was clear, the campus of Princeton was buzzing with activity but in a completely different way from when the primary school term was in session and easiness was all around those who worked and played on the beautiful campus.

House threw his bag into his office recliner and heard the squeak of a plush toy he had picked up from the floor of his apartment before heading to work. Rachel had left the toy there the previous evening and he knew that it was one of her favorites, so he wanted to make sure it made its way back to Cuddy's that evening. Even though it had been quite some time since he and Lisa Cuddy had started seeing each other, and even though House spent most of his time at her place, he still kept his own apartment and welcomed the mother and child into his home as often as he could. Rachel had become as comfortable in his apartment as she was at home, which meant that House's once-glorious bachelor pad was now somewhat of a child paradise, littered with pictures on every spare surface of Rachel, and the drawings she had spent hours making especially for House. There were little, subtle hints that the child had been around both at home and in the office, like the remnants of a fort on House's couch that he didn't feel like cleaning up before he left for work, and little smudged fingerprints he'd just noticed on his office computer from where Rachel had touched it. House smiled to himself as he thought of the sweet little girl and turned to join his team in the other room.

"Why are you all so happy?" House asked putting on his best foul mood as he sat down at the table to interact with his team.

"No reason," Chase smirked as he held out his hand and every other person at the table put twenty dollars into his palm.

"What did you win?" House asked.

"Chase decided that the current patient that Team Wilson was working on did not have cancer." Cicciliano stated.

"We all bet he was wrong," Taub sighed, "it seemed like a sure thing."

"And now I am sixty dollars richer," Chase smiled.

"You brought Wilson that case from your rounds in the ER." House stated.

"Yeah, I know," Chase smiled, "all signs pointed to cancer, but it's not cancer, yet," he added and pocketed the cash.

"It was Myelodisplastic Syndrome," House stated.

"You got it boss," Chase smiled.

"Good Call," House smiled and high-fived Chase.

"In other news," Cicciliano sighed.

"You've invaded France?" House asked, "you know the war is over, right Mussolini?"

"Ha, ha yeah apparently some unknown illness is waging war on our new patient," Cicciliano stated sarcastically. "Shall I put the troupes into motion?"

House took the file that Victoria offered and read through it, "interesting, what are you sending to the front lines?" he asked.

"I suggested steroids, it looks like sarcoidosis," Forman stated.

"No, its cancer," House said sliding the file back across the table. "Take it to Wilson, or would you like to bet that I'm wrong?" He said and looked up to see Cuddy walking down the hall, her cell glued to her right ear.

"I've learned my lesson," Taub stated, "I'm not playing these games anymore, with any of you."

"Don't be such a baby, Taub," Chase laughed and leaned back in his chair, "you know you'll get sucked in again."

House started to stand as he watched Cuddy dart into his office and stride past everyone to his desk. Silence fell as everyone followed her with their eyes and she disappeared behind the solid wall. House was the first to enter his office to see Cuddy flipping thought he television channels.

"You know I don't get cable up here, Cuddles," he stated, "Management has been denying me that prime diagnostic tool for years," He added with a smile.

Cuddy turned too look at him, tears in her eyes and panic in her every move but she could not speak, could not bring herself to tell the terrible news. It didn't matter, soon everyone would know, soon the peacefulness they had known would end.

"What's wrong?" House asked as she turned back to the TV and started flipping the channels again.

House reached out and caught Cuddy before she lost all of her composure. A sob escaped her as the channel cleared and the scene started to play out. The TV flashed the news story; Cuddy sobbed again, the team rushed into the office as the completely senseless act of terror caused everyone to hold their breath. The building was a pile of rubble, the emergency services and news vehicles started arriving on the scene and the injured and surviving littered the streets.


	2. Rachel

Chapter 2: Rachel

Code Yellow was repeated over and over throughout the hospital as House stood holding Cuddy in the silence of his office. The TV continued to play out the scene, but no one heard the sounds. Soon the traumas would start to roll in, all hands were being called and warned, the emergency personnel were already on the scene but there weren't any speculations on the casualties, but there would be. Mercy and Plainsboro were two of the primary trauma centers in the state and for the moment one hospital did not have a chief of medicine in any condition to lead in a crisis. Lisa Cuddy, Dean of Medicine, was crumbling by the force of the blow that shook her world.

House's team stared in shock as the silence and the panic of the moment set in.

"Rachel," Cuddy sobbed into House's shoulder.

"I know," House choked unable to pull his eyes away from the television.

House's team exchanged looks of worry. They knew what had happened but didn't want to believe it. Rachel Cuddy, their beloved little girl, was in the thick of the bombing.

"What should we do?" Taub asked as he looked around the office.

"We should get down to the ER," Forman stated, "the traumas will be coming in."

"Go," House stated and managed to hold his own composure long enough for the team to leave.

"She'll be ok," Victoria said as she reached into her lab coat pocket as she and the men left the office.

"We don't know that," Taub stated watching the young woman who was the newest member of their team.

Chase caught her eyes and knew in an instant what she was reaching for, "you have to have some kind of hope," he added and nodded at the woman.

"It will take a miracle," Taub said.

"That's what I am praying for," Victoria added as they rushed down the stair well, as the intercom speakers continued to announce the code, "what else can we do right now for Rachel and her family?"

"What are we going to do?" Cuddy sobbed still clinging to House.

"What can we do?" House whispered.

"She was there, House!" Cuddy screamed. Fear, panic and stress all taking over her usually calm and rational mind, "my baby was in that building!"

"I know," House said, grabbing Cuddy by the shoulders and forcing her to look him in the eyes. "I know she was there Lisa."

The tears rolled down House's cheeks as he stared at Cuddy. She shook in his arms, her eyes red and puffy. There wasn't a mystery to be solved; there would be no diagnosis or cure; only senselessness and terror. Both Cuddy and House lost the use of their strongest and most trusted faculties: their minds had become useless as panic struck fear into their hearts.

"There is nothing we can do, not until we know if she is alive," House stated, "but you have a hospital to run in a time of crisis."

"I know," Cuddy sobbed, "but I can't do this."

"Someone has to," House said taking a deep breath, "but it can't be me."


	3. Wilson

Chapter 3: Wilson

Wilson was quick to react to the terrorist code. He sent every last doctor he had in oncology, those that were not currently dealing with a patient, down to the ER to help prepare for the moment of impact. It would start with a rush of the most horrific cases of mutilation that many of these young doctors had ever seen. Wilson had been present for the carnage that followed in the wake of other attacks and bombings, so he was acutely aware of what to expect as trauma after trauma barged into the ER, so he tried his best to prepare those around him for what they were going to see. If there was going to be an event to change the way anyone looked at their lives and the benevolence of their employers, it was going to be this event. Wilson's fellows followed House's down to the ER and within minutes they were thrown into the thick of things. Men, women and children had all been affected by the terrorist attacks and this was only the beginning.

A bomb had detonated in a governement building, which held among other things the day care center Cuddy had enrolled Rachel in. Rachel had been attending the day care three days a week so that she might be socialized and meet other children her own age. House had been reluctant to have the little girl go- he liked the distraction of having her around, and he relished being present for the milestones Rachel achieved, but most of all, he wanted to protect Rachel from all the terrible things he knew were out there in the world; but Cuddy had decided that Rachel needed to interact with people her own age, rather than exclusively adults, and more specifically, doctors.

The television still blared in House's office, shouting out live updates and devastating accounts when Wilson walked into the office.

"What can I do?" Wilson asked, reading the distress on both of his friends' faces.

"Rachel," Cuddy tried to get out her sentence before she became overwhelmed by her emotions and House had to catch her again.

"That's the same day care?" Wilson asked, shock in his voice.

"Yes," House said, as he gently lowered Cuddy into his desk chair where she continued sobbing. After a few minutes, House regained his senses: "you need to take her place, Wilson; someone has to be in control. No one will listen to me, because I'm an ass, and I don't want the responsibility. My time, my mind and my heart are with Cuddy and Rachel right now. You need to be that guy Wilson, and I know you can do it," House stated, "My duty right now is to Cuddy and to my daughter. We have to find her."

"Okay," Wilson answered.

"Call every doctor on the payroll and get them in here," House said, "and do whatever you can to hold the teams together," he added. House grabbed his cell and started dialing numbers. "I'm sorry it has to be this way."

"What are you doing House?" Wilson asked.

"I'm calling every doctor at every hospital in the area that may have seen my little girl; if she is in any other ER I will find her." House stated

Cuddy reached out and grabbed her phone and stated dialing as well.

Wilson nodded to his friends and turned to leave. He knew that getting through to any of the hospitals would be impossible now, but he also knew what grief could do to people- especially scared parents. House and Cuddy were doing the only thing they could to make sense out of this chaos, and all Wilson could do was pray that someone had seen the little girl.


	4. Trying to Bring Order

Chapter 4: Trying to Bring Order.

Wilson unplugged Cuddy's phone in a last ditch effort to make the ringing stop. He had been searching frantically through her desk for any signs of a call list or emergency procedures while the phone next to him rang uncontrollably. "Don't you know there's been a disaster!" he yelled at the phone. The thought crossed his mind to pick it up and throw it across the room, but he was quickly distracted by his and House's fellows who'd walked into the office.

Six doctors, all with different specialties had been working as one group with the hundreds of other nurses, doctors and specialists that called Princeton Plainsboro their second home. Before the traumas and the casualties started to arrive, everyone in the hospital had put their emergency procedures into action. All of the fellows that made up House's and Wilson's teams had ditched their professional attire for the generic scrubs of the masses and fallen into the mix, treating everything from broken bones and head traumas to smoke inhalation. Sadly, they had all already seen the effects of the destruction as the bodies quickly piled up in the morgue. But even more shocking than the shear number of corpses, was the number of children amongst them. The team did their best to work through the fear that weighed upon their efforts, but Rachel was never far from their minds as they watched child after child succumb to their injuries.

They walked into the office all looking exhausted and distressed, still wearing their caps and masks as they fell into the furniture that littered the room.

"So you are acting dean?" Forman asked as the doors shut behind him and silence fell like a cloud over the room.

"Yeah," Wilson said, "Cuddy and House have personal matters to deal with in this crisis," he stated.

"Is there any news yet?" Victoria asked, "Have they found Rachel?"

"Not yet," Wilson said sadly, "all we can do for them is pray. What we can do for those have that been sent here is different however. What is the status of this hospital and our resources?" he asked.

"The ER is swamped. We are moving through patients as fast as we can but some are pretty far gone and our morgue is filling up. I've never seen anything like this before," Doctor Bennett stated.

"We're shipping patients off to other departments faster than beds can be found for them," Taub added.

"The traumas are going to start lining the halls," Doctor Robinson added, "We're running out of space already, and people just keep coming in."

"All the surgical staff are being paged to the OR," Chase said as he, Forman and Taub were paged simultaneously.

"Alright," Wilson stated, "any available bed, no matter where they are, fill them and we will deal with were they should be when things calm down. Do your best for now, I can see that you are already tired but there should be help soon. I am trying to get every doctor we have into the ER to help with the backlog. If you need to be in surgery go," he added, "and keep an eye out for Rachel."

"Will do boss," Bennett stated and the room erupted with ringing as Wilson plugged the phone back in.

The six doctors turned and left, and Wilson looked worried and frantic, but he was likely the only other doctor in the entire hospital that could step into Cuddy's place at such a desperate time. He was a good friend, a good boss, and calm enough not to slit his own wrists by the end of the day. Wilson needed all the help he could get, and he knew the best place for all of the fellows was in the ER, and he planned to join them as soon as he could. When Wilson finally ventured down to the ER, he balked at the number of patients that took up every inch space the ER could possibly spare, and the number of medical personnel that maneuvered amongst narrow paths between beds. It was a giant chaotic maze of living and dead, of patients that needed fluids, that needed wounds sutured, and above it all came the hum of electricity from charging paddles, in a last ditch effort to save those that were likely to die anyway. The air was stuffy and reeked of smoke and earth and rubble, and all Wilson could do was watch in amazement as the overtired staff pushed themselves through fatigue and fear, rushing around and doing whatever they could for whomever they could with whatever resources they had to spare at this point. This rescue mission was looking every bit the war zone, and Wilson imagined himself in a scene from MASH, as he continued to watch the selfless front-line workers, to whom hundreds would surely owe their lives once everything has been said and done. But the casualties kept piling up, and Wilson could see no end in sight.


	5. Mercy

Chapter 5: Mercy

As the traumas continued to arrive at all available trauma centers within New Jersey, all the available ambulances were sent back and forth between the bomb site and the hospital, collecting supplies, triaging the injured and treating them onsite as best they could, and transporting the most critical patients back to the hospitals for immediate surgery. Meanwhile, all available doctors were called in, some even from out of state, and available beds were becoming more and more scarce as more and more patients began to litter the hallways. Soon, the less critical patients would be sent to New York while the bodies of the dead would be sent to morgues around the county for identification. The closest hospital to the bomb site was Mercy General and because of its proximity to the bomb site, it had been seeing the highest influx of patients in the first hours of the disaster.

Sirens screamed as one ambulance after another arrived at the emergency bay. Doctors lined the halls to intercept a gurney as they were unloaded and passed off to let the ambulance head back out to the danger zone, where even more people waited to be taken away from the horror that was playing out around them.

One such ambulance pulled up carrying a screaming, bleeding little girl and as the gurney rolled into the hospital, Doctor Amelia Bunting was on hand to intercept it. She had with her a team of two others and they rushed along as the paramedic briefed them on the status of the patient.

"Sweetie, I'm doctor Bunting," The woman doctor said to the little girl as she started her primary check of the patient.

"Trauma to the head, shock, and a possible fractured right wrist and left ankle," The attending paramedic stated as he passed the initial chart to the doctor.

"Where was she found?" one of the other doctors asked.

"She was one of the lucky ones," the paramedic stated. "She had been caught in a play area where she was sheltered from the rubble that fell around her," he stated, "rescuers heard her screaming through a breach in the concrete that had fallen. She's lucky to be alive."

"Someone is watching out for you," the nurse said as she ran a hand over the little girl's forehead.

"Sweetie, do you know who you are?" Doctor Bunting asked.

"Rachel Cuddy," the little girl stated fearfully as panic and pain was visible on her face. "I'm Rachel Cuddy."

"Rachel, you have been in a terrible accident," Doctor Bunting stated, "can you tell me where it hurts?"

"Get House!" Rachel stated

"What was that?" the paramedic asked as he looked down at the little patient.

"House!" Rachel screamed.

"She must be confused, or delusional, she could have a severe head trauma," the paramedic stated.

"No!" Rachel shrieked, "Get House!"

"You want Doctor House?" Doctor Bunting asked trying to calm the little girl's hysterics as she reached out and took Rachel's flailing hands. Dr. House was infamous throughout the state of New Jersey, and for the life of her, Dr. Bunting could not imagine why such a sweet child would ever ask for the grumpiest doctor known to man.

"Yes!" Rachel cried as her eyes flew open and she stared at the strange doctor. "Doctor Gregory House!" she cried, her little body shaking and cold.

"Ok," Doctor Bunting stated and continued to run down the hall with the gurney and her team. "I'll get you Doctor House."

Just the sound of his name caused Rachel to relax. She became more cooperative and told the doctors around her what she was feeling. This little girl knew exactly what she wanted, and in that moment she wanted her Doctor.


	6. Breakdown

Chapter 6: Breakdown

Cuddy rose from her place at House's desk, she was exhausted and emotionally drained. She paced the length of the office as she watched House dial yet another number with no results. Her anger was growing with every moment that passed and her fear was about to spill over. Everything that she had done all flashed before her eyes as her cell phone rang again.

"Cuddy," she said into the phone, "No, I can't authorize anything right now!" she shouted and hung up. "I'm trying to find my baby!" she yelled to no one in particular as she threw her cell against the wall and watched it shatter. "Why can't anyone just give me a straight answer?" she cried as she continued to pace.

"Because everyone is in the same situation that we are in," House said and put his own cell down on the desk. "Every emergency room in the state is swamped with triage; every ambulance is on the road, and every doctor who isn't retired is on call or in the ER already."

"Except us," Cuddy said, "do you think that because of Rachel I am unfit to run this hospital?" she asked with a sigh and eyes pleading for a little compassion and truth.

"Under any other circumstances you would be in the thick of all of this. You would have been the first to put on scrubs and get down there," House stated, "I would have avoided it, taken refuge in some room or another to wait out the storm, but you? You would have dropped everything, put every deal and every class on hold and you would have been down there saving lives. I even believe you would have made this act of senseless violence into a learning experience and would have thrown all of your med students into the thick of things. Who better to deal with the less critically injured than the doctors in training? No, you are exactly the person to run this place, and you couldn't have foreseen this turn of events. No one is going to blame you for being a mother and having to deal with your child's situation over dealing with the hospital. Right now, what matters most is your little girl, not your job," House concluded, as he walked to the door of his office.

"Where are you going?" Cuddy asked rushing after him, "you can't leave me."

"I'm not," House said as he closed the door to the office and shut out the annoying voices of the trauma codes being called over the intercom. "I'm just looking for some quiet. That voice over the intercom, man, it's annoying!"

"You're right, it really is," Cuddy sighed and hugged him.

"We'll find her," House said into Cuddy's hair, "some how, we will find our little girl."

"What if she's dead?" Cuddy asked. "It's my fault. I should have listened to you and I should have kept her home."

"It's not your fault," House said. "You couldn't foresee any of this happening, how could you have known? The center was one of the top ranked child care facilities in the state. It just happened to be housed in a building that also houses some other government offices. I don't believe that the daycare was the actual target of this event, it was just among the innocent bystanders who happen to have been caught up in it."

"I could have kept her close," Cuddy said, her eyes verging on tears once more, "I have money, I could have kept her at home, with a nanny, and tutors. I could have given her everything she needed from the comfort and safety of our home."

"You could have kept her in a bubble and never let her scratch her knee or experience life," House stated.

"I could have protected her from this!" Cuddy sobbed.

"Stop talking about it like she's gone," House said angrily. "Rachel is going to be found, she's going to be fine and you can get her all of the best when we have her in our arms again."

"There are hundreds dead!" Cuddy screamed.

"And hundreds more alive, in our hospital alone!" House yelled back. "The best doctors in the state are all working to save as many lives as they can. My team, Wilson's team, and every other doctor you hired. Not to mention all of the other doctors from all of the other hospitals in the state. They know what to do, they know the procedures because you are such a hard ass about what is supposed to happen in a time of crisis that no one could escape your memos and your procedures even if they wanted to; You have done everything right! You can't blame yourself for any of this. You can't even have a little confidence in your own work. We, at this hospital, are so prepared for a situation like this because of you. All of the other stuff was completely unpredictable. But listen to me now, Rachel will be found and she will live!"

"This isn't one of your cases!" Cuddy stated, her anger now at the forefront of her emotions, "you can't diagnose her and come up with some miracle cure to save her life. She's been in an explosion. You just can't know that she is alright! There is nothing that your logical or illogical mind can connect with in this case because you couldn't have foreseen this either. There is nothing mysterious or diagnostic about it. Stop acting like your know everything! You don't!"

"We're going to find her," House stated as he grabbed his cell and walked out of his office.

"Where are you going?" Cuddy yelled.

"To check on my team," House stated as he waited for the elevator.

"And what are they going to tell you?" Cuddy asked.

"Nothing that I don't already know," he stated and the doors opened and he stepped in. "But at least I'll be trying to do something that may help someone. If I can't help Rachel right now, then at least I can try and help someone else." He stated.

Cuddy didn't follow him, only watched as House disappeared behind the sliding doors of the elevator.


	7. Found

Chapter 7: Found

Once in the elevator House's mind went into overdrive. He knew what was going on, he understood the general mechanics of the emotions he was feeling. There was anger and denial already happening, when would he accept the fact that Rachel may not be found? When would he come to accept that he and Cuddy may be among the hundreds that lost a loved one in this terrible act of violence? Or worse of all, when would that dreaded call come in with the news that no one in his small universe wanted to hear? every moment that passed, every second that melted away could bring the terrible news that Cuddy had come to speak about. What if Rachel was dead? What would he do then? Would his heart break and his mind fail completely at the thought of loosing all of the promise and excitement that her little life held? Would he know how to cope with this tragedy as he had worked through others? Would the death of Rachel Cuddy destroy him as well as her mother?

"I won't accept it," House said to himself as he stepped out of the elevator and his cell started to ring. "What?" he asked angrily, answering the cell on its second ring, "what do you want?"

"Is this Doctor Gregory House?" a woman's voice asked on the other end.

"Yeah, who is this?" House asked as he slowed his stride and started to fall back from his travels through the deserted hospital halls.

"This is Doctor Amelia Bunting," The lady stated, "I worked with you when I did my residency."

"I remember," House stated.

"I'm really sorry to bother you, especially under the current circumstances, but there is a little girl in my ER that is asking for you. She was retrieved from the bombing site and brought here earlier today." Amelia stated, "She won't let any other doctors attend to her until Doctor Gregory House has given his consent."

"What's her name?" House asked as his heart rose into his throat.

"Rachel Cuddy," Amelia answered, "I'm assuming she belongs to your Dean of Medicine."

"Yes she does," House stated as he turned on his heels and headed back in the direction he had just come, "what is her condition?"

"I can't really release that to you, Doctor," Amelia stated, "but she's coherent enough to ask for you by name. In this little girl's mind there is no one else that is capable of treating her."

"That's my girl," House said more to himself than to the woman on the other line.

"I beg your pardon?" Amelia asked.

"Tell her I'll be there shortly. You're at Mercy, am I correct?" House asked as the doors opened to the elevator and to his surprise Cuddy stood before him.

"Yes," Amelia answered, "Rachel is stable and in our PICU."

"Alright, I'm on my way," House stated and snapped the phone shut.

"House, I'm sorry for yelling at you," Cuddy said as she stepped out of the elevator. "I'm just overwhelmed and afraid," she said with pleading eyes.

"Don't apologize to me right now," House said as he grabbed her hand and started to drag her through the halls of the Hospital.

"Where are you taking me," Cuddy cried as she struggled to be released from his grip.

"Rachel is at Mercy," House stated turning to look Cuddy in the eyes. "She's stable and one of my former students just called with the best news ever."

"She's alive!" Cuddy gasped as she tried to keep up with House's pace, her stilettos clacking on the hard floor. "What is are condition and what about her injuries?"

"She's alive," House stated and continued on his way. "They couldn't release any other information to me. I am going there now!"

House and Cuddy rushed down into the parking garage where House had left his motorcycle. He grabbed the helmet off the handle bars and passed it to Cuddy as he straddled the bike and revved the engine. Suddenly he felt her arms around his waist and her thighs against his.

"Get me to that Hospital as fast as you can," Cuddy shouted over the roar of the engine.

Cautiously House maneuvered the bike out of the parking garage but once he was out in the open streets he punched it. Cuddy held on for dear life, but if there was a faster way to get to Rachel, neither one of them were about to speculate on that. The world seemed a blur as the bike flew through the streets but hope had come back into their lives. Rachel was alive. They raced through the streets, hearing sirens and seeing the distress on the faces of the people they passed but their destination was clear. They were leaving Plainsboro and heading for Mercy where for the first time since the bombing they would see her, touch her and hold her. Rachel was found, and she was alive.


	8. A Foreign Land

Chapter 8: A Foreign Land.

Most of the ride between Princeton and Mercy was a blur. The cit was a mix of activity, most of which involved in the disaster that had just taken place, but House and Cuddy failed to see most of it. Their minds were occupied elsewhere and as the motorcycle blazed into the visitor's parking lot at Mercy General and no handicap parking spot could be found, House hopped the curb and stopped his bike at the bicycle rack.

"What are you doing?" Cuddy demanded.

"Do you want to see Rachel, or not?" House asked as he hobbled away from his bike.

"You can't park there," Cuddy stated as she rushed to keep up with him.

"Watch me," House stated and walked in the front entrance of the hospital.

For the most part the foyer at Mercy was empty. There were the odd patient and loved one milling about, but there were no nurses or doctors, no sounds coming from the intercom and nothing that would otherwise tell you that it was actually a medical facility. On any other given day this place would have been a buzz with activity; the hospital's social center, but today it was dead and silent.

Walking through the empty foyer gave Cuddy a terrible sinking feeling. She had left her hospital in the same condition, knowing full well that there was chaos going on behind the scenes. She walked quickly, trying to keep up with House's pace as they walked into the hospital and past a deserted information desk. As they rounded the corner, however, the scene changed. The ringing of phones and the yelling of people could be heard just around the bend and as they walked on they started to see the crazed environment they had walked into.

"Excuse me," A nurse stated as she ran passed them, her arms filled with supplies.

"Wait," Cuddy called after her, but the little nurse didn't hear her.

"Where is a nurse's station in this place," House stated impatiently as they continued to walk into the unknown.

Mercy, in comparison to Princeton, was the older of the two hospitals; solid walls and horrible nineteen eighties décor splashed the corridor of the aging building. Cuddy and House were caught in a maze of unfamiliar stations, closed doors and blocked hallways.

As they walked deeper into the thick of the makeshift medical unit, they saw just how bad some of the injuries were; bleeding and broken people lined the halls and caused them to feel even more claustrophobic than they actually were.

"Aren't you glad we have glass walls?" House asked as he and Cuddy forced their way through yet another disheveled hallway and finally spotted a nurses station.

"Yes I am," Cuddy stated as she was pushed and pulled through the hallway.

Walking in the Mercy hallways was like entering a completely different world. Cuddy and House knew that the halls at their own hospital would be functioning just as these ones were, as hospital rooms and waiting rooms, but they had ignored that fact as they stepped into the foreign hospital.

"Excuse me!" Cuddy shouted over the roaring of the phones to try and get the attention of the nurse handling all of the work at the station on her own.

"I'm sorry," the nurse said as they finally caught her attention, "our visiting hours have been suspended today, due to the terrorist attack. The hospital is in lockdown. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"My daughter is in you Pediatric Intensive Care Unit," Cuddy stated, "she was in the bombing."

"PICU is on the forth floor," the nurse stated, clearly annoyed by the unwanted interruptions. "Check at the nurses' station on that level to find her."

"Where is the elevator?" House asked as he glanced around seeing only a stairwell and a million bandages.

"Sorry, the elevators are down." The nurse stated and pilled a stack of boxes together, "they aren't going to be any good to you now. You'll have to take the stairs."

"Thank you," Cuddy stated and grabbed House's hand before turning and struggling through the crowded room toward the stairwell.

Even the stairwell was packed with people. One line constantly going up and one constantly coming down. House and Cuddy had to wait for an opening in the flow before stepping into it and making their way up the four flights to the Pediatric floor.

"Are you going to be ok?" Cuddy asked as she glanced behind her and saw House struggling to climb the stairs.

"I want to see Rachel," He stated and pushed her from behind. "Keep moving Cuddy!"

"You just wanted to grab my ass," Cuddy stated and jumped up another few steps.

"In circumstances such as these, it just seemed like the right thing to do," House stated but was clearly struggling with the marathon of stairs.

When they finally reached the pediatric floor they crossed through the stairwell traffic and burst into a sad little landing that opened up onto another hallway.

"Now where do we go?" House asked as he leaned heavily on his cane and waited for Cuddy to make the first move.

"This hospital is terribly set up," Cuddy stated as she looked both ways down a long corridor before deciding on their path. She grabbed House by the hand and walked with him until they found the first nurse that crossed their path. "Where is the nursing station?" Cuddy asked pleadingly, her stilettos still clacking on the hard floor.

"Go straight down this hall, turn right and then turn left, it will open up into a central courtyard and that is where you will find the information desk," the nurse stated and hurried on her way.

"Back the way we came?" House asked.

"Yeah," Cuddy sighed and turned around.

Finally House and Cuddy found their way into the central location that the nurse had described. The chaos had not reached as far as this floor and though there was a higher volume of patients than their normal, the mood on the floor was light. Soft cheerful music played over the intercom to keep the children calm while the rest of the hospital was dealing with massive amounts of death.

"Hello," a young bright-eyed nurse smiled as Cuddy and House rushed toward the station.

"I'm Lisa Cuddy," Cuddy stated frantically, "where is Rachel?"

"We've been expecting you, Doctor Cuddy," the nurse said, and stepped out from behind the station barrier, "if you will follow me, I will take you to her."

"Hello Molly," Cuddy and House heard Rachel's voice before they saw her. She sounded alright, she addressed the nurse with the same familiarity as she would one of the nurses at Princeton but she sounded tired.

"Rachel sweetie, your mommy and daddy are here to see you," Molly the nurse stated and moved out of the way as Cuddy rushed to her daughter's side.

"Thank you," House said to the nurse as she moved aside. He didn't know why he was thanking her, she hadn't done anything, but it seemed like the right thing to do in the situation.

After letting Cuddy fuss over the little girl for a few moments, House moved in for his hug and to conduct his own exam. He sat down on the edge of the bed and looked down at the little girl.

"Hello daddy," Rachel said laughter in her eyes.

"Hello Jelly Bean," House said, his emotions getting the better of him and he reached out and hugged the little girl, "I was so worried about you."

"Don't worry," Rachel said softly as she hugged him tightly, "I am ok. I have a compound fracture!" she added excitedly.

"Do you?" House laughed trying to curb his tears.

"Why are you crying?" Rachel asked, her mood suddenly changing. "Doctor Bunting said everything was going to be fine and that you were coming."

"Everything is going to be fine," House said and dried his eyes on the back of his hand, "and I am crying cause I am so happy that you are ok."

"I was really scared," Rachel stated, reaching out and taking her mother's hands. "It was horrible. I think people died."

"They have," Cuddy said softly, "we don't know how many yet, but lots."

"Oh," Rachel said looking at the cast on her leg, "could I have died?"

"Yes, you could have," Cuddy said as her tears started to flow again.

"But I am ok right?" Rachel asked looking from one doctor to the next.

"It would seem so," House stated as he looked around the room for the little girl's chart.

"You're looking for this, Doctor House?" Amelia Bunting asked as she walked into the room.

"Yes," House stated.

"Hello Doctor Bunting of Mercy General Hospital," Rachel said happily.

"Hello Rachel Cuddy of Princeton Plainsboro!" Doctor Bunting laughed.

"She wouldn't send me to you," Rachel stated as she turned to House once again, "I told her I wanted you to be my doctor but she said you can't practice in another hospital. What does that mean?"

"It means that I don't have any privileges at this hospital cause I don't work here," House stated.

"You hardly work at Princeton either," Rachel stated.

"That's why I always have to ask your mommy permission to do stuff," House laughed.

"It's true!" Cuddy smiled. "Is she going to be ok Doctor Bunting?" Cuddy asked as she turned to the awaiting doctor.

"I believe she is going to be fine," Amelia stated handing the file to Cuddy, "I want to keep her just to be safe, but things are looking really good. Little Rachel was very, very lucky today."

"I have a compound fracture!" Rachel stated again.

"And?" Doctor Bunting asked.

"And a contusion on my head," Rachel stated pointing to the bandage around the wound on her head.

"It's just a surface abrasion, we scanned her right away and there is no swelling in her brain so we are sure that it's not going to be anything serious," Doctor Bunting stated. "But to be safe, we want to keep her overnight for observation, although I can't say how much observation she will get because of the crisis."

"We will be staying with her," Cuddy stated as she pulled up a chair.

"I assumed you would," Doctor Bunting stated, "although I am shocked to see you both, don't you have a hospital in the same condition as ours?"

"We do, but it has been left in very capable hands," Cuddy stated, "right now, as parents, we need to be here."

"I completely understand." Amelia said and smiled.

"And I have a broken leg too!" Rachel stated, carrying on her conversation with House.

"My goodness, you are a walking medical mystery," House stated with a laugh.

"No I'm not! I can't walk on a broken leg, silly!" Rachel said completely unimpressed with her own injuries, "they aren't that bad though, now Sarcoidosis, there's a mystery!"

"We have been having a good time talking to this one," Doctor Bunting laughed, "she's like a page out of a text book, what have you been teaching her?"

"It's my fault," House admitted. "I may have taught her the alphabet out of a medical text."

"I assumed as much," Amelia stated, "it sounds like something you would do, House."

"We talked about Lupus. Doctor Bunting has seen several cases of Lupus, but when I told her that you say it's never lupus she was shocked!" Rachel stated.

"It's never lupus when my patients come to me," House stated.

"That is hard to believe," Doctor Bunting laughed, "but I will let you continue on with you diagnostic lessons, I have other patients to attend to."

"Thank you so much," Cuddy stated as she followed Amelia out of the room.

"Don't thank me," Amelia said with a smile, "Rachel is a special little girl. She knows exactly what she wants and she's so attentive. Once I had promised to get her House, she became calm enough to let us treat her. She's alert and she claims to be nearly pain free. She had been asking questions and answering all of ours this whole time. I couldn't believe how cooperative she has been. She's been a ray of sunshine to those of us who have been working on her and she's so knowledgeable already. She wanted to know about every little procedure that we did on her and how things work. I was amazed. She's so lucky to have such an attentive teacher in Doctor House."

"I really can't thank you enough," Cuddy said tears in her eyes, "thank goodness you knew who she wanted."

"House's reputation precedes him," Amelia laughed, "I will admit to being a little shocked at hearing his name come out of a person so young, but he's made his mark and I knew right away why. I will be back later on to check on her. I hope everyone in your hospital is coping with the situation."

"They will cope better when they know that Rachel is with us and will be alright," Cuddy stated.

"Why am I not surprised?" Amelia laughed, "She speaks very highly of Princeton."

"It's her second home." Cuddy smiled.

"You can take her back there tomorrow," Amelia smiled. "She's going to be just fine."


	9. Phone Calls

Chapter 9: Phone Calls.

Wilson rushed from one part of the hospital to the next; moving beds and helping the injured as the day rushed on with no end in sight. It had been hours since the first wave of the injured had started arriving and still, as the death toll grew, more and more people were coming into the ER. The weight of the day was weighing on everyone who had been present since the initial code was called in the hospital. There was fatigue in the movements of those who worked and those who moved aside to let new, fresh faces come in. Wilson had not stopped, but his mind was constantly on House and Cuddy.

Suddenly his personal cell started to ring as he walked between the ER and the waiting area, where more people had been placed and minor triage was happening in the open. "Wilson," he stated flipping open the phone and holding it up to his ear.

"Wilson!" A tiny happy voice screamed at him.

"Rachel!" Wilson gasped tearing up.

"Hi!" Rachel stated with a giggle, "I am on House's phone! I am at Mercy! My Doctor's name is Doctor Amelia Bunting and my nurse is Molly."

"That's great! Are you ok?" Wilson asked trying to stem the tides of emotions.

"I have a compound fracture in my wrist, a broken leg and a contusion on my head!" Rachel said happily.

"Oh my goodness, those are pretty big injuries." Wilson laughed, "is your mommy there?"

"Yes," Rachel stated, "and House!"

"Yes, I figured House was there cause you said you were on his phone!" Wilson laughed.

"Oh yeah," Rachel squeaked and giggled.

"Can I talk to one of them?" Wilson asked.

"Ok, bye Wilson, I will see you soon!" Rachel said happily.

"Bye Rachel," Wilson said smiling to himself.

"Hey, she's ok, they are keeping her over night for observation, but she's doing great and she's really alert," House stated as the phone changed hands. "The doctors love her here."

"She sounds good," Wilson said.

"She is," House said, and Wilson could tell he was smiling and completely relieved. "Tell the teams that's she alright. Don't leave them in suspense any longer. They have had to deal with enough bad all day, give them a little good news."

"Will do," Wilson stated. "When are you coming back to the hospital?"

"I'm going to stay with Cuddy and Rachel tonight." House said.

"That's a good idea," Wilson stated, "but try and get some rest. It's been a very stressful day for you both."

"You too Wilson," House stated and clicked the phone shut.

"Thank god!" Wilson said to himself as he rushed out of the ER and headed for Cuddy's office.


	10. Good News

Chapter 10: Good News.

Wilson sat in House's chair as he waited for the arrival of the teams. He knew it wasn't much, but the news had lightened his heart enough to give him energy to continue so he was certain that the members of their tight knit hospital family would feel the same ways. It took him a moment to think of how he would get their attention and pull them away from all of the hard work they were doing. He didn't want to keep them long and he didn't want to just page them, but rather, he wanted to bring them all together, give them a little moment of peace before sending them back to the front lines.

"Paging Team Wilson and Team House to the office of Doctor Gregory House," the intercom blared through the halls and caught the staff off guard.

The six members of both teams had all been in different parts of the hospital. Some working in the OR, some dealing with the influx in the ER, and some were simply running back and forth. They had not been working in their teams all day, had hardly seen each other through the haze of traumas that had come in, but the call caught them all off guard and soon the six exhausted members of both teams piled into the office to find Wilson sitting calmly behind House's desk smiling at them.

Silence fell around the room as they made themselves comfortable and the glass door shut behind them.

"You could have just paged our pagers!" Taub said as he fell into a seat in front of House's desk.

"No, this is great, it's a break," Robinson stated as she slid her self down the wall and curled up on the floor.

"We haven't been together since this morning and I'm sure we've all been thinking about the same thing all day," Bennett stated as he too found a place on the floor.

"What's the news?" Chase asked leaning against the glass that divided the two offices.

"Please make it good," Robinson said.

"Rachel has been found," Wilson smiled and watched as all the team members perked up.

"Is she ok?" Cicciliano asked before anyone else.

"Where is she?" Chase asked.

"Are House and Cuddy with her?" Forman questioned.

"She's got a few injuries and the doctors at Mercy are keeping her over night, but she's going to be fine, and yes, House and Cuddy are with her now." Wilson said with a big smile and the office erupted with cheers.

"Thanks for the good news, Wilson," Forman smiled.

"Our little girl is coming back to us!" Cicciliano said as she reached out and hugged Taub.

"This is a miracle," Chase stated.

"It's pretty amazing," Wilson said nodding in agreement, "she's in very good spirits, I spoke with her myself, and I am sure she would love to hear from you all."

"Well, I'm ready to go back to work," Bennett laughed as he stood and helped Robinson off the floor.

"Just for a little longer you guys, then I want you all to get some rest. We'll need you back here tomorrow morning," Wilson stated as he too stood and followed the core group out of House's office.


	11. Thought

Chapter 11: Thought.

Evening had fallen and the sirens still screamed outside Mercy General. The smoke could be seen on the horizon from the bombing site, it was closer than it appeared, and House stood watching it while Rachel and Cuddy read a story in the hospital bed.

Rachel was in high spirits, for a little girl who had just been through a horrific day. She was tired, as was expected, she sported two casts, one on her arm (it was pink) and one of her leg (it was orange), but she was cheerful and thankful to have her mother at her side.

Cuddy was returning to her normal self, but House could tell that there was still a scorched area in her mind that screamed of the morning's events and a fear that would bring the loss of her child back to her in her nightmares.

House was numb. He had lost something today that for years had been his highest accolade. In that moment of absolute panic and fear he had lost his mind; all the faculties of rational thought and all of the abilities of his usual problem solving capabilities hasddisappeared in a split second. Was this what parenthood was about? Had he not lost his mind before and been aware of it? Would this little girl and her mother continue to be the ruin of his brilliant mind or were they making it greater? Joy, he had felt when the call had come in telling him that Rachel was alive. Thankfulness was seeing her in that bed, smiling, happy, completely captivated by her injuries, and alive. Calm came to him when he read through her chart, checked and double checked all of the tests, scans and notes, and was put at ease knowing that Rachel was going to be ok. Love, he felt it for Cuddy all day, uncontrollable, irresistible in her vulnerability, and completely unguarded as they made this horrible journey together. Now, however, he was feeling numb. There was a moment that was passing between mother and child, a tender something that he wasn't sure how to interpret and for a moment he felt like he wasn't a part of it. Was it a mother's duty to be the teacher, caregiver and consoling voice? What was he to do? Rachel was a girl, and what did he know about girls? Physically he knew what would happen to the child as she passed on into her adolescence. Would she want him around like a stranger in her life? Would she see him in the way a child should see a father figure? Would he be the one to give her away when she was married? The future had come back to little Rachel Cuddy, but House wasn't sure how he fit into it. He wanted to be there. He wanted to be apart of every little moment and take her into his arms to make her booboos better and teach her things that would lead her on in her life. He wanted to be that man she came running to when that first boy broke her heart and he already knew that he would murder the little bastard for ever thinking he could do such a terrible thing to his little girl. House laughed softly to himself as he stared out the window and all of his reveries came back to him.

"What are you laughing at daddy?" Rachel asked looking up from her book she and Cuddy had been reading.

It had happened twice now, Rachel had called him daddy. He had always been House, or Greg, never daddy. The first time she said it there was a mischief in her eyes, something of a joke. He had wanted to hear it, wanted to know what it would feel like to be called that. What did it mean for a man to want to be called daddy? He had never wanted it before but this little girl had stolen his heart and the tone of her voice, the sincerity in which she addressed him now melted away all of his numbness. He was that man, and she was his little girl.

"I was thinking about you, Sweetie Pie," House smiled as he turned away from the window.

"Why?" she asked as Cuddy looked up from the book as well.

"Well, because when today had started I was full of hope, full of love and full of happiness because of you and your mother and then something senseless happened and I felt like I was loosing everything. I was scared, I was hopeless, and everything that I had wished for had left me in an instant," House said as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

The little bed, in the little room, at the other hospital seemed so full in that moment. It was shared by the three of them; three people that made up an odd and unconventional family. Rachel was a four your old who had grown up in a hospital, around doctors and spoke with an authority and intelligence of a young woman, Lisa Cuddy, mother, employer, dean of medicine and lover was strong yet fragile, but one of the smartest women he had ever known, and then there was House, an old grump with a brilliant mind, an IQ through the roof, and a soft spot in his heart for these women. No one else had ever come into his life that he had let break down the walls he had put up.

House reached out and took Cuddy's hand across the bed, as Rachel watched him with eyes aglow; the promise and the hope had come back into House's life.

"I was laughing because I realized just how many things I had already planned for you." He said as he placed he other hand on the side of Rachel's face and felt her nuzzle her cheek into his warm palm. "I love you Rachel, and I don't want to miss out on one moment of your life and I hope that you will always be as happy as you are to have me in it as you are now."

"I will be," Rachel said softly and yawned.

"You should try and get some sleep, Jelly Bean," House said and raised his eyes to Cuddy, "your momma should try to sleep too, she's had a very stressful day."

Cuddy put the book aside and cuddled down into the little bed with her daughter, she was suddenly feeling the weight of her eyelids and just how right House was. His words had been like a drug and had already started to lull her to sleep as the little girl cuddled into her mother.

It wasn't long before Rachel was sound asleep and House rose from the edge of the bed.

"Where are you going?" Cuddy whispered as her eyes flew open at the slightest movement of the bed.

"I'm going to go move my bike and pick up some things from home. You don't want to have to spend another day in those clothes and Rachel will need something to wear if she gets released tomorrow. I'll bring back whatever I think you need and you wont even know that I was gone." He said as he came around the bed and kissed Cuddy's forehead.

"Thank you," She whispered and closed her eyes again.

The Pediatric ward was calm and quiet as the world waged its own wars outside, but in the little room there was peace. House picked up his cane and made his way out into the now deserted and quiet halls of the ward and wove his way through them trying to find his way back to the dangers of the world outside. He smiled to himself knowing that he was leaving Lisa and Rachel in one of the safest places he could think of, though he had to admit to himself he would have rather it been their Hospital rather than this one. House began to pace wondering what would have caused such a senseless act to have been staged in the relatively calm state of New Jersey.


	12. Wondering

Chapter 12: Wondering.

House started wondering what would have caused such a senseless act to have been staged in the relatively calm state of New Jersey as he walked through the foreign halls of the other hospital. He opened and closed doors as he walked not finding his way and being blocked at every turn by something else. What had been done to make someone want to cause so much havoc in the lives of so many? What, he wondered, could not have been settled at a board room table or in a court to prevent the senseless act of violence which destroyed people and government property? He opened another door and seeing a sofa he walked in and sat down, resting his leg and letting his mind wander trying to solve the riddles that were plaguing him.

Suddenly the door opened and Doctor Amelia Bunting walked in. House broke out of his trance like thoughts and looked at her questioningly.

"I tried the TV but apparently this hospital is as cheep as mine, no cable!" House stated leaning back into the sofa and rubbing his leg. "Or do your OBs get better treatment here than the rest of the doctors? They have cable at Plainsboro, lucky bastards!"

"House what are you doing here?" Doctor Bunting stated resting her hands on her hips.

"My leg hurts!" House whined, "And every channel has the disaster on it!"

"You sound like you belong on this ward!" Amelia stated seriously.

"I do, don't I?" he laughed.

"Doctor House, you can't be in here," Amelia stated.

"Why not?"

"This is a doctor's lounge," Amelia smiled.

"I'm a doctor," House stated raising an eyebrow. "I'd prove it but all my diplomas and junk are on the wall of my office. My name is also on the door. I'm a section head!" he added.

"You may be a doctor and I can see your reasoning in your argument, but you do not have privileges in this hospital so I'm afraid I am going to have to kick you out and show you to the civilian's lounge where there isn't a television at all." Amelia laughed and sat down next to him. "Do you use this argument at all the hospitals you visit or are you just testing the waters looking for new employment?" she asked.

"I don't visit much," House stated, "and I prefer to rule my own roost. Plainsboro has been really good to me. I'm not about to leave the diagnostics position any time soon, unless you can guarantee me no clinic duty will be required, I get a corner office, a full team of fellows and cable. Oh, and double my salary."

"Not likely," Amelia laughed.

"Aside from the salary and the cable, I pretty much have all that already," House stated.

"So I have heard," Doctor Bunting laughed. "You've done well, Greg."

"I've been lucky," he stated.

"I'm sure it doesn't help that you're brilliant," Amelia joked.

"Are you hitting on me, Amelia, cause my girlfriend is just down the hall, this could get pretty exciting pretty quickly," House smirked.

"Sorry, I'm married," Amelia laughed.

"You didn't marry Peter, he was such a noob! Please tell my you didn't!" House laughed.

"I did," Amelia smiled, "and we're very happy thank you very much."

"I'm happy for you, Amelia, he was good to you." House smiled. "So, why aren't you the head of this hospital, you had so much promise and potential."

"I'm happy with my kids, I don't like to stray too far from them, and you knew that in the beginning." Amelia smiled.

"Yeah, I knew you'd end up in Pediatrics," House smiled.

"And who, in their right mind, would want to run a hospital on a day like today? No, I have seen my fair share of the disaster and all the poor little ones that I haven't been able to help, and I wouldn't want to be caught up in the administrative nightmare this must be." She said seriously.

"I wouldn't want to job either," House admitted, "but under the current circumstances it seems like your hospital is in good hands."

"Yeah, we have a great team," Amelia stated, "but your dean of medicine here, who is taking care of your hospital?"

"A friend," House stated.

"He must be one hell of a friend to step up like this," Amelia stated.

"He is, the best," House stated seriously, "and Cuddy is such a hard ass about protocol and procedures that there really isn't any question as to how things are supposed to run around that place. Everyone knows where they stand, what their jobs are, and how to keep order in the seemingly unending chaos. When push comes to shove, even I know where I need to be."

"And right now that is with a colleague in a doctor's lounge that isn't in the hospital you belong to while everything is going to hell in the rest of the city," Amelia laughed. "But seriously, I can't let you stay in here." She said and placed a plastic key card in his hand.

"What's this?" he asked.

"It's an entrance key to our underground parking," Amelia stated, "please move your motorcycle from our bicycle rack. The service elevator is located near the handicap spaces in the parking garage." She added.

"What good is an elevator that's not working?" House asked as he stood taking the key card and leaning heavily on his cane.

"The service elevator has been working all day, our visitors elevator is on the fritz," Amelia smiled. "But you aren't privileged to that information because you don't work here, House. The key card will also gain you access to the elevator, it should make life just a little easier for you."

"Thanks Amelia," House said and reached out and shook her hand, "and good luck."

"Thanks, we're all going to need it," Amelia said and followed him out of the doctor's lounge.


	13. The Morning After

Chapter 13: The Morning After.

Discomfort and unfamiliarity brought morning on too early, House thought as the newly risen sun's light grazed his face as he dozed in the uncomfortable hospital chair, his legs elevated by the end of Rachel's hospital bed, as Cuddy and her daughter slept soundly. His eyes flew open feeling the throbbing pain in his leg and the stiffness in his neck from sitting all night. He had found his way through the hospital and returned to Cuddy's place where he gathered her things and some clothes for Rachel and then headed back to his apartment. He showered, changed his clothes and retrieved his car before returning in total darkness to the scene of the day's discomfort. As he had predicted, Cuddy was asleep soundly with Rachel when he returned, and though Rachel stirred a little throughout the evening, neither one of them woke up. He watched them, wakefulness and his throbbing pain always present, as the night slowly ticked by. His attention was normally pulled to the window as he watch as smoke and flames continued to billow into the sky on the horizon. How was this going to change the landscape of the city? What was it going to do to the men and women that he already believed were paranoid idiots? Did this justify their behaviour?

As House awoke and the reality of the situation started to hit him, he popped a couple of ibuprofen to ease the pain in his leg and wondered how his team and Wilson's team were handling the crisis. He hadn't spoken to any of them but he was sure that they were doing their jobs, and as he watched the skyline he noticed that the sunrise brought back the signs of the destruction as the smoke still billowed into the sky from the disaster zone; he wondered if his team had been able to get away at all last night from all of the terrible things they had seen. His mind was busy puzzling through the status of the Princeton Plainsboro when Cuddy started to stir.

"Sleep well?" he asked as she opened her eyes and it took a moment for her to realize where she was.

"It wasn't all a horrible dream," Cuddy sighed and slipped out of the bed trying not to disturb Rachel.

Cuddy moved in front of the window, stretched, and looked out into the vastness of the view. She saw the same smoke that had captivated House's wonderings before she turned back to him and kissed his cheek.

"How are you doing?" she asked noticing the bottle of ibuprofen at his side.

"I'm coping," House sighed as he stood as well.

The stiffness he felt was everywhere in his body.

"I'm sure that at one time, long ago, those were used as torture devices," he said pointing to the uncomfortable chair and beginning to pace the length of the room to try and ease the stiffness.

"We don't buy them for comfort," Cuddy stated, "they are really only here to make it look less like a hospital room and more like a home.

"And in the end it looks more like a hospital room than ever," House stated and was hushed by Cuddy who was the first to hear Rachel stir in bed.

"I'll go see if I can find us some coffee," House stated as he turned toward the door.

"Maybe I should go," Cuddy said as she met him in the hall, "you're in pain and I slept comfortably. I'll take a turn running the errands."

"I'll be fine Lisa," House said, "I'll find time when we get home to rest. You stay with Rachel, have a shower, change your clothes, and wait for her to be released. I'll find us something that isn't cafeteria food for breakfast."

Cuddy leaned in and kissed him again, "thank you," she whispered, "I owe you."

"You bet you do," House smiled and turned down the hall.

House returned with Starbucks, pastries and fruit, and milk. He hobbled into the hospital, found that the elevators were back in service and made his way to the fourth floor. He found Rachel in high spirits, still in her bed and Cuddy had changed from her business attire to the button down shirt and jeans House had grabbed for her.

"What did you get?" Rachel asked, eyeing the gourmet shopping bag in his hand.

"Breakfast," House smiled handing Cuddy her Starbucks.

"Non-fat?" she asked.

"Heck no woman, you need the 590 mills of fat, stat!" House stated teasingly. "I also brought you a high carb, low sodium, French style breakfast confection. Yum!" he added and gave Cuddy a thumbs up and the cheesiest grin he could possible manage.

"Where did you go?" Cuddy laughed.

"I thought Princeton was in a good location, but Mercy has a full farmer's market right across the street. And it's open at 7am!" House stated putting the bag on the end of Rachel's bed.

"That wouldn't matter, House, you're never at work before noon anyways!" Cuddy teased.

"And for the little one," House stated ignoring Cuddy, "fruit, and some other pastry thing that I couldn't pronounce so I just pointed at it, and lovely refreshing cow juice!" he added as he placed the items on her tray and poured her milk into a plastic cup that the hospital had provided. "I am sure it will be very delicious and we'll pretend that the pastry is nutritious!" he added with a smile.

"Oh yes, because Chocolate is so appropriate for breakfast," Cuddy stated as she looked at the pastry and then at House.

"Shh, give the kid a break, a building fell on her yesterday!" House teasingly whispered loud enough to make Rachel giggle. "And I bought fruit!" he added insulted.

"And what are you having?" Rachel asked as she picked a strawberry out of the bowl of fruit and gobbled it down.

"I am also having 590 mills of a coffee beverage, not fat free, and this beautiful, fresh croissant!" House stated emphatically as he pulled the huge French bread out of the bag.

The cheerful little family dined together as they had done on many other mornings, but couldn't quite shake the feel of the hospital.

By 8am, Taub, Forman, Chase and Cicciliano walked into the little pediatric room with balloons, teddy bears, flowers, chocolates and happy smiles all around. Rachel lit up at the sighed and practically jumped out of her bed to hug them all.

"Hello," Cuddy smiled happily seeing the doctors before her, "what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Just thought we would pay the proper hospital visits before heading back to Plainsboro," Cicciliano said as she moved toward Rachel and gave her a hug, "can I sign your cast?" she asked.

"Yes," Rachel smiled happily and watched as Victoria pulled a blue sharpie out of her pocket and started drawing a picture on the bright pink cast.

"Me next!" Chase smiled as he hugged Rachel from the other side of the bed.

"I have a broken leg too, so you can sign that!" Rachel smiled.

"Nice colour choice," Chase laughed as he saw the bright orange leg cast and the bright pink arm cast. "It's a pretty interesting procedure, isn't it, with all that plaster and stuff."

"It was super cool Chase, they reset my leg and that hurt, but I didn't need surgery," Rachel stated a hint of sadness on her voice.

"That's ok, next time you're at Plainsboro, you can watch me from the observation deck. I'll make sure it's really cool." Chase smiled and made room for Forman.

Just then, doctors Robinson and Bennett also walked in with presents and smiles.

"Can I sign your cast too?" Robinson asked moving closer.

"Everyone can," Rachel sang. "Thank you all for coming and thanks for the presents!" she squealed at the sight of all the stuff they had brought for her.

"How are we going to get all this stuff home," Cuddy whispered from her place beside House, he shrugged but smiled.

"Yes, thank you," House said from the corner where he stood. "How are things at Princeton?" he asked.

"No mysteries," Taub stated as he looked up from his writing on Rachel's arm, "but lots of chaos."

"It's been pretty bad, but we managed," Forman stated handing a teddy bear to Rachel. "Wilson is doing his best, given the circumstances."

"It started to slow down late last night, but not before all the really bad traumas came in. We lost a lot of them." Bennett whispered before he approached the little girl, "word from the site is that we are heading into the worst. Soon they won't be recovering anything but anonymous body parts." He said sadly.

House looked up at Cuddy and saw the concern on her face. Bennett's words were a horrible reminder of just how much damage and carnage was done. They had been very lucky to have Rachel doing so well, but so many other mothers and fathers were waiting for news and soon hope would be lost. There were hundreds of people in that building when the bomb exploded and hundreds more on the street and watching at home. The shock wave reached farther than the site, and it would be a long time before any healing could really begin.

The six doctors left to get back to their own hospital and get back to the work that they knew was waiting for them. All of them were happy, however, to have been able to see Rachel and know that she was alright. The last little wave of worry left them all as they saw her smile and heard her speak openly about what happened to her. Rachel Cuddy was well on her road to recovery, that was certain, and she was a very blessed little girl.

Shortly after 9am, Doctor Bunting entered the room, a bright smile on her face as she eyed the remains of the impromptu breakfast and the early morning visitors, and the happy smiles that were all around her. She looked a little tired, but put up a happy front as she walked to Rachel's bedside.

"Good morning, I see you have had some visitors," Amelia greeted everyone and went straight to Rachel, "how are you feeling today?"

"My leg hurts a little, my arm is itchy in this cast but it feels fine and the bandages on my head keeps falling down," Rachel stated. "But my reflexes are good, I have my apatite back, and I slept well. And all of daddy's fellows came to visit."

"My goodness, you are very thorough," Amelia smiled and checked Rachel's head wound. "I think we can loose this bandage all together, things look fine up there!" she said, "but I'm afraid that the itchy cast and the leg pain is going to last a little while." And turning to Cuddy she added, "you can give her some children's ibuprofen for the pain, but other than that, I think you guys can leave. I'll just finish the paper work and I'll send you on your way."

"I can go back to Plainsboro now?" Rachel asked.

"Well, I think it might be best if you go home and rest before you run off to make your rounds with Doctor House," Amelia laughed. "You can go into the hospital soon though."

"I'm going home too," House said with a sleepy smile, "I've had enough 'hospital' for one day, even if it isn't mine! We'll chill at home today, Jelly Bean, just you and me. We'll nap, maybe watch a movie, and we can even make some prank calls to all the members of my team or maybe just Team Wilson."

"That's not nice!" Rachel giggled.

"Leave the doctors alone Greg, they have had a lot to deal with," Cuddy stated waving her finger before his face.

"Yes, Lisa," House said sarcastically and put on an overly exaggerated pout.

"Have a great day, everyone, we'll see you back in the clinic in six weeks to take the cast off her wrist and we'll x-ray the leg again to see how things are going." Amelia smiled and left the room.

"I can't play piano for six weeks?" Rachel questions a deep sadness coming over her face.

"I'm sorry, Sweet Pea, but your wrist has to stay immobilized," Cuddy said seeing the sadness in her child's eyes.

"We'll work your left hand," House said cheerfully, "it will be a good work out to learn your base clef!"

"Ok," Rachel said feeling a little better.

"And hey, check it out, you'll get to use these crutches because of your leg and so I'll be able to keep up with you now," House smiled.

"Now I have a bad leg too!" Rachel smiled happily.

"Yes you do," House laughed.

By 10am the paperwork was filled out, the release was signed, and Rachel was learning how to use the crutches without putting too much pressure on her bad wrist. Molly, her nurse came back to say good bye and wrote a little poem on Rachel's leg cast.

"Thank you," Rachel smile at the lovable nurse and followed House and Cuddy into the elevator with all of the gifts that had been packed into House's gourmet shopping bag and Cuddy's arms; the balloons floated along behind them as they walked.

It was always a happy time in the pediatric ward when a child was able to walk out smiling. Rachel had lifted the hearts of many in her short stay with them and they marveled at her high spirits, her knowledge and excitement for medicine, and her ability to see the good in her situation. Not often did a child like that come along. It was clear to many of them that this little girl had learned a great deal from all of the doctors who loved her.


	14. Cuddy In Control

Chapter 14: Cuddy in Control.

Lisa Cuddy walked into Princeton Plainsboro unusually late, for her, on the day after the disaster. She walked with a purpose, all of her confidence returned to her as she walked through those sliding front doors. She had brought her child home, changed into a business suit, and made sure that House had everything he needed to keep Rachel occupied and calm before she left them alone at her place and hurried off to deal with what she had waiting for her. Even before she had made it out the door she could hear House snoring and Rachel's head rested on his chest as they had fallen asleep together in front of the TV, a jolly little cartoon playing happy music while they dozed. She smiled to herself knowing that they were safe and sound, and completely comfortable where they were, and she knew that House would do everything to keep little Rachel's mind off of the horrible disaster that had happened. Rachel had not yet learned of all of the little friends she had lost, she wasn't yet old enough to understand that they were never coming back, that the doctors couldn't save them, and Cuddy knew that soon she would have to try to explain to Rachel what death really was and why it was ok to be sad for the friends that she had lost. But, for now, Rachel was content and oblivious to the struggle that lay ahead of her. For now she slept soundly in House's arms, and Cuddy could tell that if there was ever going to be anyone in her life that would make Rachel feel safe it was going to be him.

Cuddy walked into her office to find Doctor James Wilson with his head down in the middle of her desk and the phone beside him ringing non-stop.

"Doctor Lisa Cuddy speaking," she said as she walked up beside him and answered the phone.

Wilson jumped at the sound of her voice and looked up at the well dressed professional beside him. She raised and eyebrow to him as she looked down on him, and Wilson smiled sheepishly.

"No we are not making any statements as to the number of casualties at this time," Cuddy stated into the phone and hung up. "James have you been here all night?" she asked, turning her attention to Wilson.

"Yes," he stated, "and the phone won't stop ringing," he sighed, as it began to ring again, and he lowered his head to the cool surface of her desk. Cuddy reached into the top left hand draw of her desk and put a bottle of ibuprofen beside Wilson's head.

"Doctor Lisa Cuddy speaking," Cuddy answered again. "No, we are not running clinic hours today due to the disaster and continued overflow. Clinic will be opened again on Monday morning at 9am," she stated and hung up the phone. "I think you should go home, James, I can handle it from here," she said turning her attention to him again.

"Are you sure? I could go back to the ER and deal with some of the overflow," he stated with a yawn as the phone started to ring again. Wilson reached out for the bottle of pills and popped two of them into his mouth.

"Doctor Lisa Cuddy speaking," she answered a third time, "I'm sorry I can't give out any information like that. If your loved one is found and identified in our hospital we will contact you, but we are still dealing with an influx of arrivals," she said softly into the phone, "I'm very sorry that you have to deal with this, we are doing our best, I assure you," she added and hung up. "No James, I want you to go home, I want you to rest and I want you back in the hospital tomorrow morning to do whatever I need you to do," she added as, once again, she turned to Wilson.

"You got it boss," Wilson stated, and stood from her seat and moved aside as the phone started to ring again. "How's Rachel?" he asked before leaving.

"She's doing just fine," Cuddy smiled, "she's at home sleeping on the couch with House."

"I'll stop by later to see her, if that's ok," Wilson said and smiled weakly.

"That would be great, I'm sure both of them would love to see you," Cuddy said, "but please no more gifts. The teams brought her enough stuff."

"I'm not promising anything," Wilson stated and turned to leave.

Cuddy smiled at Wilson as she watched him walk out of her office. He had been so helpful and the best of friends for stepping up and helping her out. She wished there was something she could do to make it up to him, but she knew he wouldn't let her. James Wilson was just that good of a friend.

Cuddy was back where she needed to be, and her mind was clear enough now to deal with the disaster head on. Soon she would do her own rounds, observing the hospital and the state of her staff. She would send people home, move people around, and attempt to make sense of the disaster. In the days to come, she would go over her disaster plan and see how it worked out when it really mattered. It was one thing to write up a disaster procedure, it was a completely different thing to put it into motion and the only thing that Cuddy could do was learn from the mistakes that had been made. The hospital was still standing, and eventually things would fall back into a familiar rhythm, but nothing would ever really be the same.

Lisa Cuddy had been very lucky in the grand scheme of things- she knew it, and she was happy to know that her little life, though it had seemed to fall apart in a second, was going to continue on in a happy direction. House had proved that he was in this for the long haul. He had stood by her side in her darkest hour and when things really mattered House was always there to take care of her and her little girl. These thoughts and many other hopes for the future gave Cuddy all the strength she needed to face the day and she got right down to the business of running the hospital.

The phone range again, "Doctor Lisa Cuddy speaking," she said answering, "yes, if you need to move people into the clinic the rooms are free. Fill them if you have to," she said into the phone and hung up.

Cuddy watched the phone for a moment; she knew it was just about to ring once again.


End file.
